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Snow
geese flocks taking flight from the Hayton-Fir Island Snow Goose Reserve.
Credit: Ginger Holser, WDFW photo |
Welcome
This Webpage is devoted to
the Snow Goose Quality Hunt Project on Fir Island and northern Port Susan
Bay, and provides for both participating hunters and other interested
persons information on the scope of this hunt and rules governing it as
well as conditions hunters can expect and tips for gearing up.
It is a limited entry hunt
in that only waterfowlers chosen from among those who applied may participate.
Funding for the project comes from the State Migratory Bird Stamp Program.
WDFW’s Wildlife and Fish
and Wildlife Enforcement programs are coordinating this effort, which
is aimed at restoring traditional safe and ethical methods to snow goose
hunting. It also is intended to open to hunters privately owned land that
ordinarily might be closed to the general hunting public.
It is taking place with the
cooperation of several local landowner/growers and the residents of Fir
Island and the Stanwood area, with support from the Skagit County Public
Works Department, the Skagit County Parks and Recreation Department, the
Washington Waterfowl Association, the Rexville Grange and Diking District
No. 3.
If you have comments
about this hunt or suggestions for the future, drop us a line at snowgoosehunt@dfw.wa.gov.
We hope hunters participating
will find this special opportunity an enjoyable and rewarding traditional
style hunt.
The
Program
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Two
“green” fields in this picture have six hunt units on
them averaging between 12-20 acres each.
Credit: Paul DeBruyn, WDFW photo. |
During the week for which
hunters are drawn, they and their party will have exclusive use of a
multi-acre tract of private farmland, situated on the western third
of Fir Island and northern Port Susan Bay.
This locale is intensively
used by over-wintering snow geese. Adjacent no-shooting reserves serve
as the daily focal points for the recruitment of flocks of geese from
their night roosts on Skagit and Port Susan bays.
The farmed lands on the island
and elsewhere in the lower Skagit and Stillagaumish river valleys are
a major winter food source for these birds. This program allows access
a significant portion of agricultural lands in the heart of their feeding
grounds.
Lying under the geese’s
flight paths, these fields have been prepared with the planting of a
“green” cover crop of either winter wheat or winter rye,
to which, the birds are drawn. The off-day closures will encourage the
geese to recruit to them.
These hunt units have been
laid out to provide “elbow-room” for hunt parties. They
will still allow and in some cases require hunt groups to cooperate
with hunt parties around them including the sharing ditch lines as blinds,
setting out decoy strings and spreads as well as coming and going and
retrieving downed birds.
Fraser-Skagit
snow geese: an international resource
The snow geese
over wintering in Northwest Washington comprise a unique population
of intercontinental travelers that are shared by three counties, the
U. S., Canada and Russia.
While their off-season
home during the northern winter is here in the moderate climate of southwestern
British Columbia and Northwest Washington on the deltas of three major
rivers, these snow geese make an arduous annual flight to Russia’s
Chuckchi Sea waters to breed on Wrangel Island off the north coast of
Siberia.
These are lesser
snow geese. Average mature adults weigh about 4-5 pounds, stand about
two feet high and have a wing-span of 58-59 inches.
They are called
the Fraser-Skagit population, because the same identification collaring/banding
studies that disclosed details of their migration timing and itinerary,
found that snow geese of this group had a high fidelity to one nesting
site on Wrangel Island and to one wintering area, here. They stay apart
from the other snow geese aggregations that nest separately on Wrangel
and winter in California.
There is little
exchange of breeding birds from one population to the other.
This makes them
a discrete population, vulnerable to adverse influences that their relative
isolation can make difficult to overcome.
While appearing
to be thriving today, it was only two decades ago that this population
seemingly was on the brink of collapse, having suffering the repeated
loss of significant numbers of goslings to the harsh Arctic summer weather.
Creation of the
Fir Island / Hayton Snow Goose Reserve, a respite zone from hunting
and later winter disturbance, was borne out of concerns for their vulnerability
while here and a recognition that their reproductive success was inextricably
tied to over wintering conditions.
The birds needed
to rebuild their energy through the winter months to be fit enough to
make the long flight and then immediately nest.
A rigorous management
standard setting a minimum overall population with a strong percentage
of juveniles as a prerequisite for holding a hunting season also was
imposed in the late 1980s.
These and other
protective measures brought the birds through a period of relative decline
and now it seems that changes in the global climate with moderation
or warming in Arctic nesting environs is prompting a swing in the opposite
direction: an abundance of snow geese.
Once a grazer of
native delta salt marsh plants, especially the three-square bulrush,
changing of the bay fronts here has forced these adaptable, voracious
eaters to turn their attention to another source of sustenance, winter
“green” crops on farmed lands on Fir Island and in the Stillagaumish
River delta.
As their numbers
increase, they put more pressure on winter cover crops on nearshore
farmlands, sometimes doing irreparable damage in late winter and early
spring to crops of winter rye grass and winter wheat.
Wildlife managers
here will be challenged in the future to not only encourage responsible
hunting and viewing of these birds, but to develop ways to mitigate
their impacts on farming and the vitality of lower Skagit and Stillagaumish
Valley agriculture.
Important
waterfowling reminders to hunters
The rules:
This hunting opportunity is governed by Washington’s
general waterfowl hunting regulations. You may hunt any legal waterfowl
in these units, not just snow geese.
Road hunting
banned: On Fir Island proper, hunting waterfowl within 100
feet of any public paved road is now expressly prohibited by law. This
regulation applies to all waterfowl hunters everywhere on the island.
Use good
shooting judgment: Don’t high shoot (sky bust) and risk
crippling a bird. Know the effective limits of your firearm (its choke
and shot pattern), ammunition and your own shooting skill. Hunters are
responsible for exercising due care and good judgment to ensure that
their shots bring down birds in their immediate vicinity or hunt unit.
Don’t
trespass: Arrangements have been made with some adjacent private
owners for access to their lands for the retrieval of downed birds.
But in this hunt as well as everywhere else in Washington, going onto
someone’s land without permission is illegal.
Safety
zones: Observe all safety zones around homes and out buildings;
do not shoot into them from a unit boundary. Also, hunters may not carry
a loaded firearm into any safety zone.
Decoy removal:
On lands owned or controlled by WDFW all decoys sets and materials must
be removed at the end of hunting each day.
The right
ammo: Hunt with ammunition containing non-toxic shot of a size
that is effective for large bodied, thickly feathered waterfowl.
Enforcement:
The rules and regulations governing snow goose hunting will be strictly
enforced on Fir Island as elsewhere. Anyone violating general waterfowl
hunting regulations or conditions specific to this snow goose hunt will
be subject to citation and revocation of future snow goose hunting privileges.
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Hunters:
Be sure of your quarry

Figure
1. Adult trumpeter swan |

Figure
2. Adult snow goose |
Swans
have long necks in relation to their bodies, black bills and all white
plumage except for “rust” stained heads. Snow geese are
smaller, have shorter necks, rose colored bills and vivid black wing
tips.
Credits: Ginger Holser, WDFW photos. |
Swans in
the area: There are protected bird species resembling snow
geese in the area. Several thousand trumpeter and tundra swans reside
in the lower Skagit Valley and on bayfronts from mid-fall through spring.
Hunters are cautioned
to always use care to insure that the white or gray bird they are about
to shoot is a snow goose, not a trumpeter or tundra swan.
Waterfowlers must
be able to discriminate between mature or juvenile swans and their snow
goose counterparts. That can be a challenge for inexperienced hunters.
While adult swans
and snow geese are white or predominately so, their young-of-the-year
offspring also share the same plumage coloration: gray. Another confounding
coloration characteristic shared by these swans and snow geese, young
and old, is the “rust colored” head, they both get from
feeding in iron-rich
wetlands.
A medium size,
white to grayish bird with vivid black wing tips is a snow goose.
But don’t
use this visual cue alone. Learn to differentiate these species by other
characteristics such as neck length in relation to body, the color of
their bills, frequency of wing beats and individual species vocalizations
or calls.
Veteran hunters
and bird enthusiasts know from the far-off sounds they hear, what birds
are coming their way long before they get close-in visual confirmation.
This expertise
comes with experience and is a mark of a good and conscientious hunter.
Under both state and federal laws it is not legal to harm swans under
any circumstances.
Also ingestion of
spent lead shot found in the environment has been identified as the
cause of death of thousands of trumpeter swans in Northwest Washington
in the past ten years. It is critical for all waterfowl and even upland
bird hunters to use ammunition containing non-toxic shot.
Web Sources:
for Western Washington swan lead poisoning
WDFW: http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/hunter/gametrails/2002/swan_lead.htm
Other
rules governing this hunt on Fir Island
Right of
use: Successful
applicant snow goose hunters and their guests have exclusive use of
their specific assigned hunt unit for a week during the days specified
on their authorization.
Weekly
closure: The other four days of the week these hunt units are
closed to all hunting access. Persons who enter these properties to
hunt will be cited for hunting in a closed season.
Decoy hunting
mandatory: All hunters on these special quality units must
display and hunt over “snow goose-like” decoys intended
specifically to lure these birds. There will no exceptions. (See the
section below on permissible decoys.)
No excavations:
No pit blinds or recesses in the ground for portable blinds may be dug
on any private lands enrolled in this program. Also do not cut into
ditch embankments or weaken any ditch top line. Where a ditch line or
drainage trench is included in the hunt unit, hunters may stand in them.
You may erect a temporary, free-standing, framed blind or use any convenient
natural shrub vegetation located within the shooting areas as screening
provided you do not cut or up-root and relocated it.
Motor vehicle
operation: Cars, trucks, motor cycles and ATVs are banned from
all farm fields in this program. Only authorized participant vehicles
may be parked in designated areas off public roadways. Registered disabled
hunters contacting the department in advance may arrange for facilitated
access by light vehicle in accordance with department regulations.
Other
special conditions applying to this hunt
Hunter
responsibility for notification: Successful applicants must
check in with the WDFW hunt coordinator at least one week prior to the
first hunt day of the week. If you cannot be present on a given hunt
day, your unit will remain vacant.
If hunters fail
to check in by the required time, hunt units will be assigned to other
hunters from the stand-by or on-call list (more than 1,000 applicants)
who were not originally drawn.
Successful
applicant must always be present: Hunters who are drawn for
a snow goose quality unit must be present at all times each day their
party is in the hunt unit. Hunters must have their special snow goose
quality hunt authorization permit with them and present it if requested.
No commercialization:
Special quality snow goose hunt authorizations are not valid for commercial
uses.
Assignment
of this authorization: Hunters who are drawn for a snow goose
quality unit may not give or assign any hunt days in their week to a
third party.
Standby
substitutions: A randomly ordered list of applicants who were
not drawn for initial assignment has been created. If a unit is unclaimed
or is surrendered, the person whose name is at the top of the stand-by
list will be offered the vacated unit. In addition, a day-of-hunt drawing
will be conducted when there are unfilled units. This day-of-hunt lottery
will include all hunters who show up at a designated site prior to participate
that day. You do not need a Snow Goose Quality Hunt authorization to
participate. If you are interested in hunting through this lottery system,
please call the WDFW Snow Goose Hunting Hotline (360) 466-4345 ext.245.
Party size:
Four is the maximum number of persons that may be in a hunting party
at any time on a quality hunt unit. Anyone who is hunting must have
a snow goose written authorization to hunt in their possession for recording
harvested birds. Non-hunting persons may attend, but they count towards
the maximum party size.
Rotating
parties: As long as all participants observe the daily bag
and possession limits for waterfowl including snow geese, no fee is
charged for access and parties are limit to four or fewer persons at
any time, there is no overall restriction or limit to the number of
persons invited by the successful applicant to hunt with them on any
hunt day. However, all hunters must have snow goose written authorizations
to hunt in their possession for recording harvested birds.
Growers
access: Landowner/growers have administrative access rights
at any time to their properties to do special or routine winter farming
tasks such as managing drainage. They have indicated they will schedule
and do any work on off days to minimize conflicts with hunters.
Retrieval
of birds from private lands: Unless otherwise indicated, hunters
do not have authorization to trespass on adjacent private lands to get
downed birds. Also some Fir Island property owners do not want to be
disturbed. With the aid of effective decoy sets and calls, the best
hunting practice is to use good shooting judgment to ensure that you
bring down a bird in your hunt unit or an adjacent public unit onto
which you may go.
Where property
lines are posted with “May Retrieve Birds” signs, it is
okay to cross, but only to pick up dead or crippled birds. Do not hunt
or shoot at birds on or from these lands.
Boundaries posted
with “No Trespassing” signs are entirely off-limits.
If, despite a hunter’s
best efforts, a downed bird does land on private property where he or
she may not legally retrieve it, the bald eagles on Fir Island will
scavenge them.
Ground
shooting: So-called “ground-sluicing” of birds
is unethical and dangerous. In doing so a hunter can put members of
their or another hunting party at risk. The only exception would be
to kill a cripple to recover it, but the shooter must be absolutely
sure the down range or background is clear and safe. If not, the shooter
could be charged with reckless endangerment.
Litter
control: With the variety of materials that can be used as
decoys, there is the potential for them to become litter. It’s
important that you make every effort to retrieve all trash, shell casings,
plastics, paper and blow-away items from adjacent hunt units before
you leave.
Regarding the shell
casings, dairy farmers recently reported that spent shell casings, left
behind by hunters during the season, are finding their way into green
chop and corn silage that is fed to milk cows. Some have even reportedly
been eaten by the cows. Growers report that shell casings are picked
up in root crop harvesting machines, too.
You are hunting
on private property that is intensively worked year after year to produce
crops for human food and livestock forage. Growers take pride in caring
for their lands and keeping them litter-free and productive.
Remember you are
on private property by the consent of these landowners.
To keep this land
open to public hunting, picking up litter is one of the most important
things we must do.
Avian
Influenza and Fraser-Skagit Snow Geese
This year snow
geese in North America, including Washington's over-wintering population,
will be the focus of stepped-up monitoring (sampling and testing) by
federal and state authorities for the avian influenza strain known as
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 (HPAI H5N1).
As you have no
doubt heard, in the past year this particularly virulent form of avian
flu has sickened and killed birds in Asia, Africa and Europe. After
close contact with infected domestic birds, more than 100 people in
Asia also have died from HPAI H5N1 virus.
Since the Fraser-Skagit
snow geese nest in the Russian Arctic they have the potential to contact
Asian wild bird species that may carry the disease.
Although avian
flu is making headlines, we emphasize these points:
1. The
HPAI H5N1 virus has not been found in North American wild or domestic
birds.
2. There
is no evidence that properly cooked waterfowl (or domestic poultry)
can sicken people.
As you harvest
snow geese in this program, you may be contacted by state biologists
who will conduct a simple sampling procedure. It will not contaminate
your birds nor is it even an indication that your birds have the virus.
It is part of a
randomized collection system that enables the monitoring program to
obtain diverse, viable test samples from birds throughout the population
at low cost.
We ask that you
cooperate with samplers in the process, which should not unduly inconvenience
you.
More on
the virus and testing: Avian flu viruses are transmitted among
birds through respiratory secretions and fecal droppings. The HPAI H5N1
virus is not easily transmissible from birds to people, but health officials
are concerned it could develop into another form that spreads readily
from person to person, triggering a global health crisis called a pandemic.
General studies
of avian influenza in wild birds have been underway in Alaska for several
years, with no positive cases of HPAI H5N1 detected to date. Surveillance
in Alaska should provide a means of detecting HPAI H5N1 if it enters
North America from wild birds migrating from Siberia or other parts
of Asia.
As mentioned, the
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is collaborating with
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) on a nationwide surveillance effort for early detection
of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI H5N1) in wild birds.
The joint surveillance
effort in Washington State calls for testing 3,600 hunter-harvested
and live captured free-flying wild birds, and 1,500 bird fecal samples.
WDFW’s portion of the sampling is funded with $285,000 from the
USFWS and $140,000 from USDA.
Wild bird sampling
focuses on several species of migratory shorebirds and waterfowl most
likely to have interacted with Asian migratory birds in the Arctic during
the summer. Initial testing of free-flying birds is taking place in
the northern Puget Sound area, coastal estuaries and in the northern
Columbia Basin.
In addition, WDFW
is part of a state network for collection and testing of dead birds.
Die-offs of multiple wild birds should be reported to WDFW, by calling
1-800-606-8768. If the deaths appear unusual, samples are sent to veterinary
laboratories to test for diseases, including avian flu.
Common
sense precautions: While it is extremely unlikely that hunters
or people feeding birds could contract HPAI H5N1 from wild birds here,
the following common-sense precautions are always recommended to reduce
the risk of contracting any wildlife disease:
- Do not harvest
or handle wild birds that are obviously sick or found dead.
- Wear rubber
gloves while cleaning game or cleaning bird feeders.
- Do not eat,
drink or smoke while cleaning game.
- Wash hands with
soap and water or alcohol wipes immediately after handling game or
cleaning bird feeders.
- Wash tools and
work surfaces used to clean game birds with soap and water, then disinfect
with a 10 percent solution of chlorine bleach.
- Separate raw
meat, and anything it touches, from cooked or ready-to-eat foods to
avoid contamination.
- Cook game birds
thoroughly-meat should reach an internal temperature of 155 to 165
degrees Fahrenheit to kill disease organisms and parasites.
Dogs used in wild
bird hunting are not considered at great risk of acquiring avian flu,
though there have been several cases of the HPAI H5N1 virus infecting
dogs. Cats, also are susceptible to the HPAI H5N1 virus. Dog and cat
owners should consult their veterinarian for more information about
this influenza in pets.
Web Sources:
for avian influenza information:
U.S.
Center for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/index.htm
U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service: http://www.fws.gov/home/avianflu/
WDFW facts:
http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/avian_flu/ai_faq.pdf
WDFW Avian
Flu Q&A: http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/avian_flu/questions.htm
What
hunters will find on this Fir Island snow goose hunt
The thrust of rules
governing this hunt is to steer goose hunters away from too low or too
high a pass-shooting tactic and even more unruly, unethical and dangerous
behaviors such as ground sluicing flocks of birds near roads and buildings.
One bad pass-shooting
episode last year resulted in a sliding door being shot out of a house.
That alone speaks to the concern many Fir Island residents have about
hunting.
Fir Island
setting: Waterfowlers will be hunting in a rural but highly
visible and intensively farmed setting.
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| Crop
harvests occurred in late September and early October. Field on
the left has potatoes (Hunt Unit 1 A), the brown field (Hunt Unit
2A) in the mid ground has drying beet seed on it. Both were planted
ton cover crop in mid October. |
Harvest
occurred from dawn to dusk in October.
Credits: Doug Huddle, WDFW photos |
They are sharing
this environment with many year-round residents who live on the island
as well as hundreds of additional daily commuters and visitors who have
come to see and photograph the snow geese. Hunters should expect to
have many eyes watching.
Though cover crops
have been seeded, some parcels were planted later in the fall. Hunters
should expect these fields to muddy up after rains or thaws. They should
plan accordingly with their garb and gear.
Hunt unit
layout and setting:
Hunt areas are set back from roads and all adjacent residences and out-buildings.
They are marked with parking and entry point signs
identifying the unit(s). In the units themselves several types of markers
and signs will help hunters determine the bounds of their decoy and
shooting areas. Bamboo poles painted orange
are set at unit corners and along boundary lines adjacent to roads or
other units.
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Hi-visibility
signs mark parking and entry points for hunt units.
Credit: Doug
Huddle, WDFW photos |
Orange
painted bamboo poles mark hunt unit corners and starts of safety zones. |
Wooden
posts with one foot white PVC cylinders mark approximate center of
hunt units. |
Edge signs along
roads will inform other hunters and the public that reserved hunting
opportunities are occurring on these lands. Low profile
wooden posts will make the approximate center of your
shooting area so you can judge the space available to set decoys and
blinds. The white PVC plastic pipe (for visibility) can be removed if
you think it will distract birds, but please put it back on when you
leave.
Wooden
lathe stakes with arrow signs will point in the direction
you need to walk to get to your shooting area.
Both these and
the wooden center post will have high visibility reflectors for detection
with a light in darkness. Be sure to bring a bright, focused-beam flashlight
if you plan to enter your unit before daylight.
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Wildlife
Biologist Jennifer Bohannon sets a safety zone sign for barn in background
next to a hunt unit corner post.
Credit: Doug Huddle, WDFW photo. |
Safety
zone signs (red diamond shape) are set along semi circle
lines around all adjacent residential dwellings and out buildings.
Property
lines will be posted with signs indicating “Okay
to enter to retrieve downed birds.” Or they will be posted “No
Trespassing,” or “Closed Area,” in which case no entry
for any reason is allowed.
Number
one need for hunters: Both new as well as experienced snow
goose hunters will have to meet the challenge of perfecting a return
to the techniques of calling in and shooting these birds over field
decoy sets.
Veterans sum up
the first, second and third requirements for snow goose hunting success
this way.
Decoys, decoys,
decoys.
Six dozen (72 white
blocks, silhouettes, shells, bags, rags or any combination thereof)
is considered the minimum number of decoys for a viable set.
 |
This
snow goose spread laid out by the Klesick family of Stanwood in hunt
unit 5A on the week of Oct. 23 totals 500 decoys. They shot birds
on several days of hunting early in the season.
Credit: Doug Huddle, WDFW photo. |
Others will tell
you even more, many more, are better. Decoy spreads of four to five
hundred or more are often used by guide services.
In this inaugural
year of the hunt program, a liberal interpretation will be applied to
the phrase “snow goose-like decoy.”
Managers are encouraging
snow goose hunters to use their creativity and expect that the need
to be frugal as well as quick in putting together such large strings
will result in some interesting and imaginative lures.
Besides the standard
realistic manufactured block, plastic shell, silhouette and bag type
decoys sold on the market, hunters might consider the use of white diapers,
white plastic grocery bags, pieces of bed sheet and empty bleach bottles.
Motion is good
to build into strings with some silhouettes or cutouts configured with
wind-powered flapping wings. White grocery bags on bamboo stakes set
to pivot and flap in the wind should be included. Pieces of old bed
sheet staked to the ground can lure birds with a high angle view.
Lightweight, plastic
kids’ toboggans make great totes for getting decoys especially
shells and full bodies to and from your hunting site.
Hiding in
plain sight: The next hurdle for this field hunt is your blind.
There is little existing cover available on these hunt units.
This hunt will
occur on cultivated fields, all of which have been planted with either
winter wheat or rye grass. It’s ultra flat terrain where the scant
natural cover consists of some volunteer vegetation growing along some
natural sloughs, field ditches and winter drainage trenches.
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Hunters
in unit 8B set a small spread of decoys near the slough and used its
shallow channel for their blind.
Credit Paul DeBruyn, WDFW photo |
These shallow watercourses
offer only minimal cover amid the plane of the surrounding fields. If
you use them after the rains come, be prepared to wear waders and not
just hip boots.
Participants will
really need to use their creativity to conceal or disguise their presence.
Veteran snow goose hunters say that adult snow geese birds quickly learn
what threats look like and they will “flare” or shy away
from them.
Hunters with the
time and the money to order them, the pop-up recliner style snow goose
individual blinds should work well.
There’s not
much native cover, but most unit fields have established “greened”
up cover crops. Many hunters are using camouflage webbing or cloth in
native, dull colored vegetation schemes, including a clumping of leafless
shrubs. Some are matching the rye grass green or winter wheat green
color. Which ever you use, try to avoid abrupt lines or casting shadows.
Old timers also
used to hunt the bay front with makeshift portable blinds resembling
stumps like the real ones that littered the tide flats or rafted up
against the outside of the sea dike.
Another gambit
that is becoming increasingly popular is simply dressing in white coveralls
and lying among a decoy spread. Be sure to bring plastic to separate
you from the moist, muddy ground.
Hunters also can
set decoys close by drainage trenches and sit or kneel in them for some
cover.
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Some
finer points of Fir Island snow goose hunting
Veteran waterfowl
hunters with years of hunting trips under their belts begin to see patterns
in the birds’ response to local weather and crop conditions.
Hunters of snow
geese on Fir Island are no different.
Time of season,
wind direction and velocity, visibility, prolonged cold snaps and what
remains of the cover crop in the reserve all play roles in affecting
how the birds fly in from the bay front at daylight, from which direction,
how long they stay in the reserve and where they move later in the day.
Established more
than 10 years ago, the Fir Island/Hayton Snow Goose Reserve located
in the south central part of the island between (south of) Fir Island
Road and the sea dike is the focal point for these birds as a super
flock.
It’s the
sanctuary they know; the magnet to which they are drawn enmass. Each
morning tens of thousands of birds lift off their night roost of Skagit
Bay just after daylight and fly inland to the reserve. The way they
get there depends in large part the wind’s direction and force.
The clear,
calm day scenario: On “bluebird” days, where less
experienced hunters might be tempted to call it a day shortly after
the morning flight comes in high and “parachutes” or spirals
down to the reserve, a seasoned hunter will know that when the reserve
has been picked over, restive birds will begin almost immediately to
filter out to surrounding green fields and those as individuals, pairs
and small family groups will provide opportunities throughout the day.
In field decoy hunting
it will be the singles, pairs and small flights of snow geese that are
decoyable.
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Snow
goose morning flights from the bay into the reserve can occur at any
time from first light to as late as 10 a.m. depending on weather conditions.
It’s during these flights as singles, doubles and small flocks
break off and fly out of the reserve that initial shooting opportunities
can occur in nearby quality hunt units.
Credit: Doug Huddle, WDFW photos. |
The southeasterly
scenario: South and southeasterly storm winds, a common occurrence
in the Puget Sound trough, often push the birds to the northwest as
they lift off from the bay at daylight causing them to swing wide out
over the North Fork of the Skagit River.
The hunt units in
this program are situated under the flight path the birds take as they
strain to pull themselves back toward the reserve.
The stronger the
southeasterly, the closer to the deck they fly.
Your shots in this
scenario are either at any very low flying birds or the young ones (gray
juveniles) who see your massed decoy spread as an easy shortstopping
alternative to continued struggling for the reserve.
The mid- and late-season
exchanges: In this scenario, large groups collect in the morning in
various green fields on the west and central portion of the island.
Then throughout the day, those small decoyable flights move back and
forth from one massed flock to another. This is when a snow goose call
will come in handy.
Unusual
allies: The wild card in snow goose movement behavior comes
from an interesting source. Bald eagles often come to be viewed as the
snow goose hunter’s best friend as they fly randomly across the
island riling up birds wherever they go, even flushing big groups from
the reserve that often break up or fragment into smaller flights that
are easier to lure.
If this occurs
at some distance from your hunt unit and its decoy spread, consider
the tried and true tactic of flag waving, a white tee shirt or flag
as a means of attracting far distant birds to your vicinity.
As was mentioned
above, good sportsmanship, honoring other hunters’ shots and even
cooperation between shooters in adjacent hunt units is recommended and
will be necessary.
For a change
of pace: There are state-owned lands open for public recreation,
including other waterfowl or pheasant hunting, on the southeast side
of the island at the Skagit Wildlife Area as well as along the bay front.
As the season gets
into full swing there will be lots of hunting activity to view as there
are many private hunting clubs occupying much leased acreage on Fir
Island. They will offer plenty of valuable what to and how to examples,
good learning experiences for new hunters.
Web Sources:
for travel and weather updates:
Washington
Department of Transportation: http://wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/
U.S. Weather
Service Seattle: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/sew/
Driving
Directions
Driving
directions and maps to hunt areas will be mailed to hunters prior to
their hunts.
For additional information
please call the WDFW Snow Goose Hunting Hotline at (360) 466-4345 ext.245.
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